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Another year and another Peugeot new-comer is crowned as a champion. Like in previous season, the new recruit stole the lime-light from the established team-mate. Juha Kankkunen had moved to Peugeot from Toyota and was not expected to adjust just so easily to a supercar.
In 1986 season the development of the rally cars reached it's peak, technology and performance begun to rival even that of Formula 1. Season got off to a fine start when all the supercar teams except Ford arrived to Monte Carlo to wrestle for the supremacy. Henri Toivonen scored an impressive win, 20 years after his father had won the same event. Soon things turned sour, though.
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Deaths, bans, exclusions, controversy; words of 1986. Three spectators were killed in Portugal, Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto in Corsica. As a response, Group B was promptly banned. Peugeot was then excluded from San Remo Rally before the end, setting the stage for controversial final in drivers' championship.
San Remo affair brought much shame to organisers when FISA later annulled the results. Similar shame fell on FISA when in one night swift and sweeping changes were hammered through after Corsican tragedy. Not to mention how FISA officials threatened withdrawing drivers with loss of competition license in Portugal, prompting Walter Rohrl to announce that "we are not killers".
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Citroen BX 4TC debuted in Monte Carlo and Ford RS200 in Sweden. Former started in Monte Carlo, Sweden and Acropolis before it was deemed uncompetitive and project was shelved. Ban on Group B propably had a lot to do with it also. RS200-project was late and car ran in basic form without benefit of planned evolutions (as did Lancia Delta S4 too, incidentally). It showed some surprisingly good speed but was unreliable and was destined to disappear after 1986 like rest of the Group B cars.
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1986 FIA World Rally Champion, Juha Kankkunen
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Drivers scoring their
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first win
J. Moutinho (Portugal)
B. Saby (Corsica)
M. Biasion (Argentina)
first drivers' point
A. Oreille (Monte Carlo)
R. Ericsson (Sweden)
G. Recordati (Portugal)
A. Segurado (Portugal)
R. Fernandes (Portugal)
A. Coutinho (Portugal)
G. Criticos (Safari)
J. Torre (Corsica)
M. Neri (Corsica)
G. Casanova (Corsica)
R. Stohl (Acropolis)
N. Allport (New Zealand)
J. Celsi (Argentina)
R. Ulyate (Ivory Coast)
P. Copetti (Ivory Coast)
M. Yace (Ivory Coast)
D. Llewellin (Great Britain)
P. Alessandrini (USA - Olympus)
C. Smith (USA - Olympus)
P. Choiniere (USA - Olympus)
first stage win
M. Rayneri (Portugal)
J. Moutinho (Portugal)
C. Bica (Portugal)
J. Ortigao (Portugal)
G. del Zoppo (Portugal)
A. Turiani (Portugal)
F. Chatriot (Corsica)
M. Ericsson (Finland)
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